A Unique Tang
by Artificial Dreams
Summary: Achroma/Kyouhei. When you're seeing an older guy that has more of a thing for machines than he does you... it's a little hard to not feel like you're the only one even trying.


The Frigate was, as always, a chilly container that Kyouhei once again found himself inside. As he attempted to kill time, he took to drumming his fingers along old desks. Desks that had been abandoned by countless Plasma Grunts who, until he came, truly believed they were doing the right thing. People who destroyed lives by paving a pathway to hell with with stones of good intention. The rhythm of his fingers coincided with the thrum of the generators keeping the no longer functional air ship air conditioned and the sounds of Achroma's own team playing with the brunet's. His boredom was becoming increasingly more common, an aspect of his visits that Kyouhei was loathing more than accepting.

Regardless of that, no matter how often he tried to convince himself of the countless other methods that came to his mind that were, "better ways of wasting time," none had the same appeal as watching and waiting.

This was the complicated side to being so fascinated with someone such as Achroma. The scientist was caught up in the world of his experiments and curiosity, at times abandoning the world behind to tinker with a machine that took over his thoughts like an addiction. The dedication with which he worked was probably what brought him so high and so far into the Plasma hierarchy, and the blindness to those around him was why Geechi made little effort to hide his true intentions from the man. For a few hours, every time he snuck in a visit, Kyouhei would eventually end up sitting quietly and just watching. Observing Achroma rotating through tools, tweaking screws or wires or panels, arranging the parts to create or repair. All in the name of science and research, going through repetitive motions of the scientific method. And, on more than one occasion, double-checking with Kyouhei in what was regarded as ethically acceptable.

After a handful of arguments, Achroma took care to verify with the brunet that his research would not be considered unethical - that, or he was cautious enough to hide his more questionable curiosities from the teenager. A possibility that unnerved Kyouhei, that left him too ashamed in his doubt to vocally inquire about. As the man continued his tinkering, the brunet ceased his drumming and released an exasperated sigh. He was _bored_, and he was finished with this repetitive motion their relations was turning into. Whatever their relations even were, really. Walking over, Kyouhei wrapped his arms around the other's shoulders and let his hands slide down Achroma's chest and dangle there. Rather than react, the man merely continued to work - as though the action was so common he barely even noticed these days. Snorting, Kyouhei pressed his cheek against the other's. "You're going to do something with me." He stated factually, turning his head slightly so brown eyes blurred when trying to look into yellow ones.

There was a small chuckle, and Achroma set down his tools to lean back into the lazy hug. "What do you propose we do this time, then?" He inquired, tone light and noncommittal. Frowning at the lack of enthusiasm, Kyouhei grabbed the unbuttoned halves of the man's lab coat and flapped them - keeping his hands busy so he didn't punch the other.

"I'm always coming up with shit to do. It's your turn." Kyouhei scowled.

"The job of deciding what we shall do together is typically dictated by you, Kyouhei, as you are generally the one who wishes to take action outside of the expected." The lackluster response Achroma gave sent brown eyes rolling.

"That isn't a suggestion. That's you saying random bullshit trying to get out of actually putting effort into this." _Whatever this is_, the brunet added silently to his own thoughts. "Ugh, what do I have to do to get you to leave this damn place? Create an evil organization and inspire people to rebel against mainstream thinking? Is that what gets you off?" Despite the agitation in his tone, Kyouhei's words only seemed to make the blonde man laugh. "Damnit, I'm serious!"

"Yes, I am very aware of that." Achroma snickered, his own hands grabbing hold of Kyouhei's to stop them from their persistent jostling of his coat. He could feel Kyouhei's facial muscles contort into a frown, and decided continuing to laugh at him was not the best idea and so the man forced his snickers into merely a grin. "You do not need to lead some sort of rebellious band of people, Kyouhei, to arouse my interest." He stated, and then pulled the other's hands to his face so he could plant an airy kiss to both wrists.

"Achroma!" Kyouhei said, body jolting away in surprise. "I'm not talking about s-"

"You are looking for an activity for us to spend time together, in which my attention is on you and not my mechanical endeavors." Achroma interrupted, and spun around in his chair with one thin brow raised at the other. Kyouhei was rubbing one of his wrists, his lips still turned downwards in disapproval but amidst his tan cheeks were traces of pink that had not been there moments ago. "I have, actually, been trying to consider a sort of experience the two of us could share together that has a higher percentage of us equally enjoying ourselves. After quite some time of generous brainstorming and observation, I fear that I do not find that many of the activities you prefer occupying yourself with appeals to me." Achroma paused, sliding his eyes closed while his brows knitted together.

Kyouhei patiently waited for him to finish gathering his thoughts, admiring the man's preference to thinking before speaking. The action was refreshing compared to Hue's tendency to being more rash and prone to sharing his mind unfiltered. Although Kyouhei appreciated his friend's perpetual honesty with him, at times the lack of consideration led to misunderstandings due to poor wording choices. Even if the scientist's hesitation made the brunet nervous about what was never said, there was no doubt that the man's statements were carefully selected to ensure he was understood. "Thus, my conclusion was that us going to the beach together would please you." That was the final sentence, and the brunet merely stared at him.

"All of that build-up was for that?" Kyouhei sputtered, letting go of his wrist to place his hands on his hips in a subconscious imitation of his mother whenever she was irritated with him. Recognizing the action, he scowled and removed them only to snap his fingers and sway them forward and back to give his limbs something to do. "And, seriously? The beach? Do you even have a swimsuit…?"

"I was going to request I borrow one from you." Achroma teased, the playful grin on his face once more.

"Tough tits, you're going to have to buy your own." Kyouhei scowled, shoving his hands into his pockets getting tired of hearing the irregular rhythm of his own snaps.

"As an individual who spends such a great deal of his time bringing out the best in his team, inspiring his Pokemon to be stronger than the average physical limits to their peers you never fail to impress me in how lewd your wording can be." Achroma chided the other, gloved hands gripping onto his chair's armrests and propelling himself forward and up into a standing position. In merely two strides he stood before the brunet, fondly looking down at the brown eyes glaring right back. "Oh, sometimes how you tempt me to explore the finer aspects of human psychology, Kyouhei…" The scientist murmured, placing his hand on the side of Kyouhei's face and letting his thumb gently glide over a left cheek to lingering on a lower lip.

"You're fucking creepy as hell when you say shit like that." Kyouhei reminded him, but he merely leaned into the touch and let his eyes slide closed with a sigh. The two were not what the brunet would call "dating" - more of a strange limbo between wanting to be free yet being bound by an attraction that left little room for anyone else. Kyouhei was still young, part of him wanted to explore all the fish in the sea before attaching himself to one person… especially someone who was older, and seemed more dedicated to cold steel over warm bodies. To put the cheri on top of the metaphorical cake, the brunet was often the one who put the most effort into… _this_.

The extra work he put into taking the time to visit, to chat, to anything with the man left him weary and wondering why he bothered. Then moments like this happened, when Achroma was tender and teasing all at once - his touches barely there and his words stimulating otherwise groggy segments of Kyouhei's brain. As if shying away from the intimacy, Achroma took his hand away and straightened his coat. Disgruntled, the brunet opened his eyes and tried to not whine feeling the cool air again. "Someday, I should like to hear you finally admit you find my 'creepy' manners attractive in some potentially fetishized fashion." The blonde chuckled, and walked past Kyouhei to check up on his team as they bounded or floated about the perimeter. "I cannot promise you a day to remember at the beach, but I will give my word to making the attempt to accompany you outside of the Frigate. Satisfied?"

Kyouhei rolled his eyes. "Baby steps, I guess…" He wondered silently if Achroma even knew what a date was.

...

...

...

...

A week passed since the exchange, and the night before Kyouhei had received a message on his C-Gear that Achroma wanted to meet him at Humilau City in the morning. Originally the brunet planned on having a morning match with Hue, but given it was a rare day the scientist asked to do something with him Kyouhei only felt mild guilt in canceling the match. Guilt that only increased when Hue asked why, and the brunet was too ashamed to answer. Rather than lie, he hung up on his friend and summoned Mandibuzz to take him to Humilau right then.

Splashing his feet around in the water that rose above the sand bar at high tide, Kyouhei peaked at the docks every few minutes to check if Achroma had arrived yet. Honestly, he was clueless as to how the other was going to get there - last the brunet checked, Achroma had no one with him that knew how to fly a human being from point A to point B. Unless he was developing a machine for teleportation. If he had… countless possibilities flashed through his mind. What if the machine rearranged Achroma all wrong when he reached his destination? What if it sent him to the wrong coordinates? What if the machine worked, and landed in the wrong hands? What if Achroma _was_ the wrong hands?

Smacking his cheeks and sucking in a deep breath, Kyouhei tried to calm himself down. He was panicking over something stupid. On a more realistic level, Achroma either was getting a ride there from an old lab assistant or was making the trek himself on foot. There was no denying that this was now the beach the man had suggested a week ago. An odd mix of anxiety and excitement began to rise, as he wondered what the other had in mind. Perhaps Achroma decided to study aquatic Pokemon for a change, knowing how much the brunet enjoyed diving. Joy started bubbling to the surface, as the possibility of showing the other how to properly dive occurred to him. The safest way was to, of course, have a water-type with the diver. The brunet prided himself on his skills, as only until he was sixteen did his mother finally consent to him getting a Pokemon of any kind. Until that point, he had dived only with himself and his equipment.

Away from the sandbars and docks, Kyouhei heard cries and shouts from the landmass that made up the island of Humilau. Squinting his eyes and looking towards the commotion, brown orbs bulged when spotting Reshiram lower itself to the open area in front of the Pokemon Center. "Wh-what's he doing here?" The brunet gasped, and darted to the wooden stairs, climbing each step two at a time. Almost sliding on the dock, he grabbed hold of the railing to catch his balance before hurrying onwards. The creamy beach sand was hot beneath his bare feet, but Kyouhei simply added hops to his running in attempt to ignore the burning sensation. "Hey!" He yelled, waving his hands. "N! The hell are you doing here?" He cried out, no longer breathing through his nose and instead his mouth. Feet reaching the cooler grass, Kyouhei sighed in relief both from the sensation and because he could more clearly see N - and the cause for the strange appearance. Sliding off the dragon's back after him was Achroma.

_Didn't expect them to be friends._.. he thought wryly, taking more time to approach the two men. A small crowd had gathered around them, the people chattering amongst themselves about whether this was the dragon that saved them or threatened them. "Kyouhei." N announced, spotting the familiar face and waving the teenager over. "I'm glad to see you again and you seem very well-"

"Yeah, I'm doing fine. When did you two start hanging out?" The brunet interrupted, leaving the green-haired man momentarily thrown off.

"When I was attacked on three sides about my methods for gathering data." Achroma explained pleasantly, nodding a thanks to N before taking a briefcase and cooler down. He was dressed a bit more casually, at least by his standards - he wore a white collared shirt and black slacks. At least he was aware that all black would merely absorb heat and the lab coat would trap it.

"Three sides?" Kyouhei and N repeated at the same time, and then jumped to stare at each other. They found the two of the three, at least. "Oh, yes, no on second thought perhaps not but then again…" N began murmuring to himself, biting his lower lip as he crunched numbers in the various probabilities of whatever explanation was weaving its way through his mind.

"What? You think you're the only human being concerned with the welfare of Pokemon that is aware of my research?" Achroma teased the brunet, before handing him the briefcase and opting to carry the cooler himself. Shaking himself out of his silent conjecture, N waved a brief farewell to Kyouhei.

"It was nice to see you again, Kyouhei. I hope next we meet our exchange can be less brief and more of a conversation." N called after the two.

"…Chargestone Cave?" The brunet asked with a sigh. Next to him, the blonde merely nodded. "See you later!" Kyouhei yelled back, now that he had his answer. Hopping onto the white dragon, the king quickly departed. "You math geeks. Seriously. You all have some kind of weird equation boner for that place." At that, the scientist laughed.

"Not necessarily. Chargestone Cave is as rich in its fine performance of nature's method of expressing itself through numbers, as it is in history. When trying to find a sort of explanation for any irregularity in our surroundings, often turning to history can assist in pinpointing what we may otherwise miss. Also, he and I equally share fond memories there. That was where my Magneton evolved, " Achroma paused. "As for him, that is his story to tell. If you are curious, I should request you speak directly to him."

"You aren't much of a storyteller." Kyouhei rolled his eyes, and then tried to drop his voice to a deeper baritone than his usual, "That was where my Magneton evolved." Shaking his head, he let his voice resume normalcy, "I was riveted by every word."

"You always struck me as easily pleased." The scientist retorted.

"Hah." Kyouhei stuck out his tongue. "So what's your magnificent plan?" He inquired. "Don't tell me you don't have one, because I'll be pissed." He added. Just in case the man thought he could arrive on the beach wearing an outfit just a hair out of his ordinary and expect forgiveness if he decided to be lazy. The only way he would have received forgiveness was if he came there in only swim trunks and no modesty.

"There is an outline of a plan, but nothing set in stone. Your personality type shows a preference for having wiggle room rather than rigid schedules." Reaching the coast on the island section of Humilau, Achroma set the cooler down next to a picnic area with a wooden roof set up with pillars to provide shade. Frowning at this, Kyouhei set down the briefcase. "I don't care particularly for swimming, but that seems to be a sport you are quite passionate about. So, I presumed that a good exercise for finding scenarios we are equally comfortable with would best be spent with us each doing what we enjoy: you swimming," The scientist motioned at the beach in front of them, "And I researching." At this, he popped open the briefcase and pulled out several scientific journals - only half of which were written by him. "When you want a break from the water, I brought lunch for us to share." Setting the papers back into the briefcase, he sat down and gave the brunet an indifferent look - but hidden beneath the sun's glare across glasses, Kyouhei wondered if he saw hints of trepidation.

"…it's more than what I suggested in the past." The brunet confessed - usually his suggestions consisted of eating together, or watching a movie. Simple ideas, easily executed with little to no drawback if the attempt failed. He wasn't really certain if Achroma was seeking his approval, or if the brunet's sanity simply needed to hallucinate that to feel reassured, but the idea was planted and there was no uprooting it now. Even though he was only in his wetsuit, Kyouhei felt comfortable enough to move forward and sit in the other's lap, letting legs dangle off of the bench and wrapping his arms around the blonde's neck as they faced each other. "Thanks." Kyouhei whispered, initially moving in for a kiss before shying out and pressing their foreheads together. His own was slick with sweat from being outside most of the morning waiting, but the scientist gave no indication of caring.

"Your insecurity was was very uncharacteristic - I was worried." Achroma replied softly, moving his jaw forward to catch Kyouhei in the kiss he hesitated on. One arm encircled the brunet's waist, pulling the smaller chest against his own. In this one, singular passionate kiss Kyouhei realized for the first time that the blonde didn't just taste like coffee. Somewhere in there, was the sweetness of something… cake, perhaps. The kiss stopped when the brunet suddenly laughed, because the odd mix of bitter and sweet from Achroma, and salt from the ocean breeze Kyouhei had been inhaling, left behind a bizarre tang no one else could ever give him.

Resuming the kiss he decided he never wanted to give anyone else a chance to imitate it, either.

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I neither own nor have any affiliation with Pokemon, Inc.  
**A/N:** Getting a personality for Achroma I'm happy with feels near impossible. Like, getting his speech and manners to be different from N is kind of hard. I think I'll just aim to have him more devious. Idk.


End file.
